"You are strong!" Jacob mused, his voice a mix of genuine surprise and dark amusement. He tightened his grip on Dimitri's fist, the bones in the larger man's hand audibly creaking under the pressure. A wide, eager smirk spread across his face. "I hope you can last long enough for me to enjoy our fight."
Then he released Dimitri's fist.
Dimitri roared and swung again, faster this time. His blows came in a wild flurry—each punch heavy enough to crush stone—but Jacob dodged them all with effortless precision. He moved like smoke, sidestepping, weaving, and parrying without losing his grin.
Jacob dodged a punch and slammed his elbow into Dimitri's chest. The crack of breaking ribs was unmistakable, and the larger man was sent crashing into the asphalt.
Dimitri groaned, spitting blood as he struggled to his feet. But before he could even set his stance, Jacob blurred forward using his super speed and drove a fist deep into his chest. The force lifted Dimitri off his feet, sending him flying backward as if yanked by a wire. He crashed into a pile of scorched rebar and concrete with a sickening crunch of metal and bone.
Jacob smirked. "Is that all you've got?"
From the rubble, a guttural, inhuman sound emerged. Dimitri rose, his body beginning to grotesquely reconfigure. Muscles bulged, bones snapped and shifted, and black fur erupted across his skin. His chest expanded, his shoulders broadening as his head distorted into the shape of a massive bull. He grew to a towering 2.5 meters, his legs transforming into powerful, cloven-hoofed limbs, a thick tail lashing behind him. Two curved horns burst from his skull, and his eyes glowed red.
Jacob raised a brow, clearly intrigued. "Finally decided to shift. I've been wanting to see your Minotaur form since I read Elena's memories."
Dimitri snorted, hot vapor puffing from its nostrils into the cool night air. Then he charged. The very ground trembled, asphalt cracking under its hooves.
Jacob braced, crossing his arms in front of him. This time, the impact was different. A grunt was forced from his lips as the Minotaur's fist connected, his boots skidding backward several inches through the rubble.
Jacob smirked. "Now we're talking."
With a powerful heave, he shoved the Minotaur back. Seizing the opening, he launched into the air, spun to build momentum, and delivered a devastating kick to the center of the beast's chest. The crack of impact echoed through the ruins. Dimitri stumbled back, bellowing in pain, before toppling onto his back.
As Dimitri roared in fury and struggled to its hooves, Jacob's eyes fell on the tattered remains of his suit jacket. He strolled over, plucked a black bank card from the inside pocket, and put it into his pocket dimension. "Wouldn't want this getting lost. There's a lot of money on it, according to Elena's memories."
The casual theft was the final insult. Dimitri let out a roar that shredded the air and charged again, consumed by a rage that overrode all sense of self-preservation.
Jacob smirked and met his charge. The real fight began.
It was a brutal, direct contest of power. Their blows collided with thunderous cracks, shockwaves rippling outward as they traded hit for hit. Jacob dodged a swing of the Minotaur's tree-trunk-like arm and drove his own fist into the Minotaur's ribs, feeling another satisfying crack.
Dimitri retaliated by dropping to all fours, using the tremendous strength in his legs to launch himself forward, aiming to gore Jacob on his horns.
Jacob caught both horns in his hands, his boots sliding backward from the force before he dug in and halted the charge. He smirked and drove a powerful knee directly into the Minotaur's snout.
Dimitri roared in pain and swung a huge fist wildly. Jacob simply let go of the horns, his smirk never fading.
The fight continued, but Jacob was undeniably stronger and faster—a predator playing with his food. He let Dimitri wear himself out, blocking and countering with precise, bone-shattering strikes. The Minotaur's blind rage was his undoing.
The turning point came when Jacob sidestepped a blind charge and hammered a fist into the side of the Minotaur's head. The force was immense, and with a sound like splitting timber, one of Dimitri's horns broke off at the root.
Dimitri screamed—a horrifying mix of human agony and bestial bellows. He staggered away, clutching his head. Warm blood began to mat the fur around his temple. The blinding rage cleared from his red eyes, replaced by dawning, primal fear. He looked at the smirking clown and realized the horrifying truth: The clown was toying with him. If he stayed, he would die.
Spinning on his hooves, Dimitri turned and fled toward the glowing lights of the city.
Jacob picked up the severed horn, hefting its weight before tossing it aside. He smiled at the fleeing Minotaur's back. "Hey! Come back here! I thought we were having fun."
He began to follow, not with a sprint, but with a predator's leisurely stalk. He allowed Dimitri to gain a little distance, to let the glorious, fleeting hope of escape take root. Then, in a blur of motion, Jacob would reappear to deliver a bone-jarring blow that sent the Minotaur crashing into a dumpster or through a chain-link fence.
Dimitri would stagger to his feet, disoriented and bleeding, and run again. And Jacob would follow. They repeated this deadly game—hit, fall, run, hit again—until they burst from a ruined alleyway onto a crowded city street.
Cars screeched to a halt. Pedestrians froze, staring in disbelief at the bleeding, horned monstrosity that had stumbled into the middle of the street. Then all eyes turned to the clown-faced man who emerged from the same alley, smirking, and walking calmly toward the beast.
For a moment, a stunned silence hung in the air, broken only by the constant hum of traffic and distant casino music. Then, the whispers started. Phones were raised. A man pointed a shaking finger at Jacob and said. "It's the Joker! They must be filming a Batman movie!"
Another scoffed. "Really? I don't see any cameras."
Three brave—or foolish—girls skipped over to Jacob. "Can we take a picture with you?" One asked.
Jacob flashed them a smile. "Sure!" He threw his arms around two of them, posing as their friend snapped the photos before they scurried away, giggling hysterically.
Jacob's eyes scanned the crowd of tourists, gamblers, and revelers. An idea bloomed in his mind.
'Since we are in Vegas.' He thought, his smirk widening. 'Let's give these people a show.'
With a ground-shaking roar, Dimitri grabbed a parked sedan and hurled it at Jacob.
Jacob didn't even flinch. He inhaled deeply and unleashed a stream of searing dragon fire. The car exploded mid-air, a fireball lighting up the street as molten metal rained down like fiery confetti.
The crowd, now thinking this was the greatest street performance they'd ever seen, erupted in cheers.
A woman nudged her boyfriend. "The CGI is amazing!"
"Are you stupid?" He retorted. "That's not CGI, that's a real car! Do you even know what CGI means?"
"MY CAR!" A man wailed from the sidewalk.
Enraged, Dimitri picked up another SUV and sent it flying toward Jacob. This time, Jacob simply kicked the vehicle, sending it rocketing back toward the Minotaur faster than it had come. It slammed into his chest, flattening him against the wall of a casino.
Dimitri freed himself with a bellow of pure fury, tearing a lamppost from the concrete and swinging it like a colossal club. Jacob caught the blow with one arm, sparks flying where the metal met his scaled forearm. He twisted, wrenched the post from Dimitri's grasp, and used it like a bat to smash Dimitri across the jaw. As the Minotaur staggered, dazed, Jacob seized his remaining horn and delivered three brutal punches to his head before releasing him and delivering a final kick that sent him crashing hard into a building.
A few drunk tourists stumbled out of a nearby bar just in time to see the monster embedded in the crumbling wall.
"Yo, bro!" One of them laughed, stumbling forward with his phone. "That costume is sick! Is this, like, a movie shoot or something?"
The man walked right up to Dimitri's motionless body and raised his phone for a selfie. The Minotaur stirred, blood dripping from his mouth, and his glowing red eyes snapped open.
Jacob saw it and cursed. "Damn it. It's too late to save him now."
The drunk man barely had time to scream. Dimitri's hand shot out, grabbing him by the torso—and with a sickening tear, he ripped the man clean in half. The two pieces of the corpse hit the ground with a wet thud, blood splattering across the sidewalk.
Jacob sighed. "That guy was unfortunate."
The drunk man's friends, and the entire watching crowd, froze. The illusion shattered. This was no movie shoot. This was a nightmare.
A single, piercing scream cut through the air, and then the street erupted into chaos. People scattered in all directions, trampling over one another in a blind panic. Cars swerved and crashed into each other; some drivers abandoned their vehicles entirely and fled on foot.
Jacob's grin faded and thought. 'Well… that escalated quickly. These people are going to need some serious therapy after tonight.'
In the distance, sirens wailed. Police cruisers screeched to a halt, blocking both ends of the street. Officers leapt out, guns drawn, shouting for everyone to get down. They took one look at the monstrous Minotaur and opened fire on him and Jacob.
Bullets tore through the air. They ricocheted off Jacob harmlessly, flattening against the scales hidden beneath his clothes. But Dimitri wasn't so lucky—rounds punched through his thick hide, drawing fresh streams of blood and fueling his rage.
Enraged and in pain, the Minotaur turned toward the nearest group of officers. He charged, his one remaining horn lowered like a spear, ready to gore and trample them.
But Jacob was suddenly there, an immovable wall between the raging beast and the terrified cops.
"Alright." He said, his voice dropping to a cold, deadly calm. "I can't let you kill anyone else. Time to end this."
He inhaled, and the air around him shimmered with intense heat. Then his mouth opened—and he unleashed his dragon's breath.
The cone of hot flame engulfed Dimitri completely. The Minotaur's agonized roar was cut short as the inferno consumed him. Flesh and fur vaporized. Bones blackened and crumbled to ash. In moments, nothing was left but a sizzling, molten scar on the asphalt where the beast had stood.
Jacob exhaled softly, a wisp of steam curling from his lips as he turned to face the police officers behind him.
The officers panicked. One of them, a woman with wide, terrified eyes, raised her service weapon and fired.
The bullet ricocheted off Jacob's chest with a sharp ping. He smiled, a cold, unsettling expression. "That's rude. I just saved your lives."
He stepped closer. He gently touched her chin with a clawed finger, forcing her to meet his glowing golden eyes. "By the way." He murmured. "Do you want to know how I got these scars on my face?"
The gun clattered to the pavement as the officer began to tremble uncontrollably.
Just then, Jacob heard Allison's voice in his head. [Stop molesting the poor woman and let's go. It's time we left Vegas, especially after the shit you just pulled, you idiot.]
Jacob let go of the woman and replied telepathically. [What did I do this time?]
[You could have killed that bull guy in front of the auction building!] Allison shot back. [That way, that man who got torn apart would still be alive, and this chaos wouldn't have happened!]
Jacob shrugged. [That's not my fault. Who told that guy to try and take a selfie with a minotaur? I mean, couldn't he see it was a real monster?]
Jacob used his super-speed and vanished from the street.
The cops spun around, searching in vain for the clown who had simply disappeared.
Jacob reappeared in a shadowy alley where Allison was waiting. He kissed her, and said. "Where's Lydia and Cogman?"
"They're still near the auction ruins with the people we saved from the auction." She replied.
"Let's go get them and leave." Jacob said.
They used their super-speed, becoming blurs as they raced back to the outskirts of the city where Lydia, Cogman, and the freed captives were gathered.
When they arrived, Jacob looked over the huddled group of freed captives. After a brief internal struggle, he sighed dramatically. "You should all know that what I'm about to do is really going to hurt me."
Everyone except Allison, Lydia, and Cogman visibly panicked, shrinking back.
Lydia raised a brow. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to give them some money." Jacob said.
He reached into his pocket dimension and withdrew stacks of cash totaling thirty million dollars. "George." He said, addressing the alpha werewolf. "You take two million for yourself and your family. Except for the two FBI agents, give the rest a million each."
He handed the massive sum to George, who began distributing it.
After the money was handed out, Jacob clapped his hands together. "Alright, time for us to go. You guys should leave this city as soon as possible and lay low. The people behind the auction house are seriously scary, with connections everywhere. Make sure you don't get caught again."
He then turned to the two FBI agents. "One of you, give me your phone. I'll write down three addresses for auctions like this one here in the States. Take them to your superiors and tell them what you saw. But, they'll probably tell you to forget everything that happened tonight."
The female agent handed her phone to Jacob without hesitation. "They probably will." She said. "But if they allow us to go after those auctions, I'll do everything in my power to destroy them."
Jacob finished typing and handed the phone back. "Don't go after those people if you want to live long. As humans, you stand no chance against them." He showed her his hand, where fine, reptilian scales glinted in the light. "And don't bother trying to get my fingerprints to find out who I am. I have no prints."
The female agent offered a small, respectful smile. "I wouldn't do that even if you left prints." She deliberately wiped the phone on her sleeve. "See? I have no intention of knowing who you are. You're a good person, and in the scary world we just learned about tonight, we need people like you." She pocketed the phone and added. "And as for us being weak humans... George is going to fix that."
Allison looked at the alpha werewolf. "Are you going to give them the Bite? Did you tell them the risks?"
"I did." George said firmly. "They still insisted. I will teach them how to control themselves."
"Then good luck." Jacob said. "Now, it's definitely time for us to leave."
With that, Jacob, Lydia, Allison, and Cogman departed. They slipped into a dark alley, and after Cogman confirmed no cameras were present, their nano-masks shimmered, shifting their appearances to the random faces they had used upon arriving in Vegas. They melted into the crowds on the Street, returned to their hotel, checked out, and began the long drive back to Beacon Hills.
In the car, Allison turned to Jacob. "By the way, what was the woman you fought on the sixth floor?"
Jacob kept his eyes on the road. "She was a Gorgon."
Lydia said. "A Gorgon? Was she dangerous?"
"Nope, not at all." Jacob said a little too quickly. "I dealt with her with ease."
Allison narrowed her eyes, her gaze piercing. "Why do I feel like you're lying?"
"I'm not lying! She was weak." he said, clearing his throat. "Anyways, this trip was fun and now we're so rich. I still have 130 million in cash in my pocket dimension, and we'll see how much is on the bank cards after Cogman makes all the money ours."
Allison asked. "Do you think what you did tonight will be on the news tomorrow? I mean, you fighting a minotaur in front of all those people."
"Probably not." Jacob mused. "The higher-ups in the government wouldn't let that happen. They wouldn't want the supernatural world exposed and cause a panic among normal humans. Anyway, we'll see what happens tomorrow."
To be continued... 😊